How To Calculate Follower Growth Rate on Instagram

Learning how to calculate follower growth rate on Instagram is worthwhile to track progress. It’s a percentage-based stat that gives you a snapshot of the progress you make in a given time. You can set a goal for the growth rate so that there’s something to aim for while posting content. 

We’ll also share the different methods you can use to improve the follower growth rate. This includes posting a wide range of content, buying followers, and collaborating with influencers. With so many options, you can choose one that resonates with your desired strategy.

How To Calculate Follower Growth Rate as a Beginner

Are you wondering how to calculate Instagram follower growth rate? You can complete the process by using a simple formula, which is as follows:

Number of followers you have / Number of followers you gained (x100) = Follower growth rate

As an example, let’s say that you have ten followers and you gained one follower. This means you have a 10% growth rate for the period you have considered. You can also view your follower growth rate on Instagram Insights. 

What Is a Good Follower Growth Rate on Instagram?

A good follower growth rate on Instagram is around 5-10% per month, but it varies significantly based on the niche. Some niches have faster growth rates because of their bigger popularity. For example, fitness and travel content on Instagram is highly popular. 

Furthermore, your target follower growth rate will depend on your goals. Accounts where growth is the only objective will have a higher growth rate. However, when selling on Instagram, you may want to focus on getting sales instead of more followers. 

You cannot control your growth rate, but you can control what activities lead to growth. Therefore, in the next section, we’ll share what steps you can take to get more followers.

How To Increase Followers and Boost the Growth Rate

Now, let’s turn our attention to getting more followers, and there’s a lot of variety. Ideally, you’ll try each of the four methods in this section so you can increase the odds of success. Make sure to focus on long-term growth instead of looking for a quick win. That’s because the evergreen methods work best in capturing the audience for the long term. 

1. Post Content Regularly

Instagram users want to consume content on the social media platform, so you’ll need to post regularly. Ideally, you should be using an Instagram scheduling tool to automate the publishing process. This allows you to space out the content and publish at regular intervals. 

To capture a bigger segment of your audience, you’ll need to post a wider variety of content. Here are the options available for you on Instagram:

• Instagram posts: Regular posts will be your bread and butter when it comes to content publishing. This allows you to post an image or video with a caption of up to 2,200 characters. There’s a lot of room for creativity with posts, and users can leave comments where you can reply. 
• Instagram Reels: The short-form content type popularized by TikTok is also available on Instagram. Reels can go viral and bring in an avalanche of traffic to your account. However, you’ll need to get the formula right to capture the attention of scrolling users. 
• Instagram Stories: The story’s content is similar to Reels in format with a few big differences. Firstly, you can only send stories to the fees of your followers. Next, the content delets within 24 hours of the posting time. Hence, it’s only suitable for posting content that you don’t want to stick around for the long term. 
• Instagram Live: Do you want to interact with your viewers in the form of a live stream? Then, it’s a good idea to use IG Live to create live video streams. There’s also a chat where users can ask you questions or communicate with each other. You can answer questions on video as they come in, which is an interactive way to communicate. 

2. Seek Out Instagram Influencers

You can hijack new audiences by collaborating with Instagram influencers. This allows you to take advantage of the large number of followers they have already acquired. You can ask the influencers to mention your account in a variety of ways. It can be a segment in a video, or they can use a tag. 

This will send traffic to your account page, where users can potentially click the follow button. The success of this method depends on the number of influencers you contact and their size. Also, you need to find influencers with audiences that match your own.

3. Buy Instagram Followers

Another method is to buy Instagram followers, but Instagram’s terms of service do not allow it. However, you’ll need to focus on buying organic followers since these add more value to your account. 

Make sure to avoid buying too many followers in a short period of time. This will raise a red flag on Instagram and potentially lead to a suspension. Instead, buy Instagram followers at a rate that matches your regular account growth. 

4. Use the Right Hashtags

Instagram hashtags are one of the primary methods users will use to seek out new content and accounts on the platform. Therefore, you need to leverage the search traffic capabilities of hashtags to increase your viewership. 

Here are some tips for how to use Instagram hashtags correctly: 

• Don’t spam hashtags: Make sure to limit the number of hashtags to use on each post. Typically, around 4-5 hashtags per post is a good amount, but do your testing to find out what works. If you have a lot of hashtags that you want to use, then it’s a good idea to create more posts. 
• Find the top-performing hashtags: You can use software such as Instagram Insights to find the highly searched hashtags of your niche. These are the ones you must add to your posts to increase the viewership numbers. 
• Use relevant hashtags: Don’t add hashtags that don’t make sense for the content of your post. That’s because it will confuse users and lead to low content engagement rates.

What Is a Sustainable Growth Rate?

A sustainable growth rate is one where you can produce content at a steady rate without getting exhausted. This means you need to consider your available resources and if you have enough for other expenses. For instance, it would be counterproductive to only spend money on growing the account. You may also need to invest in building your brand elsewhere. 

Also, you need to be realistic about your account growth goals. This means you shouldn’t buy Instagram followers at a rapid rate. The activity will arouse the suspicion of Instagram and potentially lead to a ban. 

What Is the Ideal Average Number of Instagram Followers in Your Niche?

The average number of Instagram followers you should have in your niche varies, and there’s no correct answer. You can look at your main competitors to look at their follower numbers and take an average of that. Knowing the average gives you something to aim for to be the top account. 

However, buying followers may artificially increase the average follower count in your niche. Therefore, you need to take the information you find with a grain of salt.

How To Measure Instagram Reach

The Instagram reach is the number of users who view your posts divided by your total number of followers. Now that you know how to measure Instagram reach, give it a try for yourself. You can see what posts are getting higher exposure. 

Now, let’s consider some of the top methods for improving your Instagram reach. This ensures your posts receive higher viewership and engagement on a regular basis.

• Optimize your titles: Start by looking at your post titles and consider if they are click-worthy. Ideally, a post title needs to intrigue the users and give them a reason to view the post in further detail. 
• Get better images: The quality of our images will play a bigger role in your post’s success. Perhaps you can outsource the work to a professional to ensure that you use optimized images. 
• Answer questions in comments: Your audience is more likely to view posts if they know you’re active in the comment section. That’s because they may want to see if you respond to an interesting question. Engagement from the account holder directly is what users love about following social media accounts. 
• Post interesting topics: Think about what kind of content your audience wants to see more of and post that. This requires market research and being knowledgeable about your niche. Also, you can ask users what kind of content they enjoy instead of playing the guessing game. The loyal followers on your account will let you know.

Is It Worth Calculating the Follower Growth Rate?

It’s a good idea to calculate the growth rate from time to time to monitor the success. However, there’s no need to do this too often since there’s no value in getting bogged on in long-term metrics. Instead, focus on the day-to-day process of getting more followers, and the growth rate improves naturally. 

Now that you understand how to calculate follower growth rate, try it for yourself. You’ll see that the process is easy to follow, and no technical knowledge is needed to complete the steps. Also, you can use Instagram Insights to see the growth rate automatically without doing any calculations. 

Do you want a fast and proven way to get more followers to boost the growth rate even further? Then, take advantage of the professional service here at Plixi. We match the right followers for your account to increase the conversion rate. So don’t delay in your growth rate goals. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.